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Monday, April 27, 2015

It
goes without saying that the Phillies have struggled out of the gate,
losing 11 of their first 16 games to crash to the bottom of the NL
East standings. The Phillies have already lost four of their first
five series and there appears to be no end in sight to the Phillies’
woes.

Offense
has been an obvious problem. The Phillies have swung the bat poorly
in their opening five series, recording a team batting average of
just .214, the worst mark in the entire National League. They are
also at the bottom of the pile in the runs and RBI departments,
posting just 49 runs and 47 RBIs through 16 games.

It’s
tough enough to win with your offense out of sync it’s even harder
when your pitching is struggling as well. Through their first five
series in April, the Phillies’ pitching staff has walked a total of
66 batters, the highest in the majors this season. With problems
engulfing the club left and right, it isn’t a surprise to see
Philadelphia’s odds to win the championship tumble. Current MLB
betting lines at
TopBet
show the Phillies are far from the favorite in 2015, sitting at
+40,000 to capture the World Series this season.

It’s
not all doom and gloom, though, for the struggling Phillies. Cody
Asche has provided some glimmer of hope for the Philadelphia faithful
with his excellent play this season. Through 15 games played, Asche
is 18-of-59 with two homers, two doubles, three RBIs and four walks.

Asche
can’t do it all by his lonesome, though. For Philadelphia to turn
its season around, the
veterans
need to step it up and start contributing on the offensive end. Ryan
Howard and Chase Utley have been simply atrocious to start the
season, batting .193 and .121, respectively, for the Phillies through
their first five series. Howard has been miserable at the plate,
striking out 18 times, while Utley only has seven hits in 58 at-bats.